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solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and "bbc world news america." this is "bbc world news america." taking to the fight to the heart of israel. set to receive britain's backing, syriana's new opposition leaders have talks in london. and the unmistakable sound of led zeppelin. we talked to jimmy page about their special honor in the u.s.

welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. we begin with dramatic developments in the middle east. palestinian militants have fired a rocket all the way to jerusalem for the first time in decades. they have also targeted tel aviv. israel has risen but by calling up reserve troops and stepping up its bombardment of gaza. in a moment, a report from the gaza strip were there more civilian casualties today. first, we have this report from tel aviv. >> today, and the heart of israel, sirens scream for people to take cover from rocket fire. the past 24 hours have come as quite a shock. even for the million israelis living close to gaza, fear is part of their daily lives, the

mortar and rocket fire have increased dramatically. one young couple went out to look at the rocket damage to their house and the warning of another attack sent them running. fire also interrupted a funeral of one of three israelis killed yesterday. premature babies had to be moved elsewhere. israelis are nervous. televisa is known for wealthy inhabitants, classy cafes, and restaurants. rockets from gaza have now burst the bubble. >> usually it is not very close, and now it is in the center of israel. it is very scary. seafront.iv's a handful of rockets that reached this far have almost all landed in the sea. the others caused hardly any damage. but the fact militants are

still able to fire medium-range rockets and got this far into israel, to tel aviv for the first time, despite the israeli military saying that it is counting western depots in gaza and rocket launching sites, that has had a huge psychological impact. just as we left, the sirens wailed in jerusalem, the first time in decades. israel is sending troops to the border with gaza and calling up thousands of reserve soldiers. the feeling here is the ground invasion is getting closer. gaza's main hospital. every half hour or so, castle this from the latest air strike are rushed in. all of those that we saw were civilians. if this was to develop into a full-scale roll war, it would be overwhelming.

>> i could not get home. i am exhausted. i cannot stand. >> at the same hospital earlier today, egypt prime minister come here to try to broker a cease- fire but also expressing his full support for hamas. >> israel's operation in gaza was a disaster. this is aggression and we as egyptians will not remain silent. >> in the past 24 hours, israel has launched more than 300 air strikes, some in residential areas. by bombing this building in the heart of gaza city, israel says it is attacking what it calls hamas' terrorist infrastructure. but look how close this building is to schools and homes. the potential for civilian casualties is very high.

if israel totally undermines hamas'authority in gaza, what will come in its place? tonight, israel continues to pound gaza and the militants fire out. today, the hopes of a cease-fire ends with fears of all-out war. for more on the violence at a regional implications, i spoke a short time ago to erect, a fellow at the washington institut for near east policy. how much difference does egypt's new government make to that crucial relationship with israel? >> i think the fact you have the muslim brotherhood in power in egypt really made israel hesitant to even start this kind of operation, which is why they waited until over a cut rockets have fallen from gaza the past year. this is not an operation they wanted to begin, in large part because they knew this egypt would respond differently to the

way hosni mubarak's would have. >> what about the historic peace treaty? >> for the moment, it appears that the president, a former moslem brotherhood leader, understands he cannot do anything to break the treaty. what he is doing is anything that he can that kind of stops short of breaking it. the making of strong statements against israel in support of a hamas, sending his prime minister, encouraging egyptians to go to gaza, where they effectively act as human shields because they deter israel from continuing its operation law giving hamas the cover to intensify their attacks. he is not doing anything aggressive, not explicitly breaking the treaty, but he is making it clear he is on hamas' side. >> he is caught between the need of u.s. aid and the support of his party? >> that is the way washington sees it, but our realism is not

the muslim brotherhood's realism. day they may not realize what is at stake for them and they may be driven by their desire to help hamas, the palestinian muslim brotherhood, that they may not be cognizant of the consequences. while clearly he is not in any rush to. the treaty, he is getting signals. if you have an egyptian killed in gaza now that he is sending egyptians there, that could create crisis that he might use to downgrade relations. >> how has the arab spring it changed the dynamic? >> i think that has made it a lot more pressing for arab leaders. the arab leaders have to be more responsive to their publics rhetorically and also in terms of what they do. arab publics are very supportive of the palestinian cause, but it is on these new leaders to behave responsibility and understand consequences for their actions. for egypt, it is a board to

reinforce to egypt leaders the treaty with israel create stability and makes egypt's a good investment. outt's very diplomatic way of the crisis? that at the moment, it seems that both hamas and aerial are committed to see this through. -- at the moment it seems that both hamas and israel are committed to see this through. newmembers of syria's opposition coalition are seeking former role recognition of the west and held talks in london. it said they still needed to submit plans for a political solution. it said britain would offer its support. our diplomatic correspondent has the latest. >> a regime bombing run in northern syria. this act of this video shows the bombs falling.

it is the latest evidence of an unequal war that opposition rebels are convinced they can win. fighters of the free syrian army insists they are taking ground. but opposition leaders have been greatly hampered by deep divisions until now. which is what makes these pictures so significant. the new opposition coalition to discuss ways that britain can strengthen their hand. first, the government needed assurances from the opposition leader. >> i welcome the commitment he has made to reach out to all opposition groups and communities and to respect human rights, to finalize a clear plan for political transition in syria, and of course to demonstrate how the coalition can be a credible political alternative to the upside receive. -- the assad regime.

>> the opposition coalition needs international recognition. france jump first. britain will be close behind. that means they could be sued arming the rebels, but the u.n. embargo will have to be lifted first. the aim? tipping the balance against president assad. the signals today could hardly be clearer. this seemed to be itching to announce formal recognition of the new opposition coalition if the president can be brought down. >> they represent about 90% of the forces on the ground. we are in dialogue with other opposition forces of the coalition. i think the british and international community recognizes the presentation the coalition has. >> still, the crisis in serial worsens by the day. these refugees are risking heading home again, partly in fear of what without adequate

shelter, out partly trusting opposition rebels to grow stronger. another sign of the changes in the middle east, clashes have broken out in jordan between anti-government protesters and supporters of the cane. -- of the king abdullah. some protesters have called for the downfall of king abdullah. two former croatian generals have been cleared of war crimes committed during the 1990's. they were given a rousing welcome. an appeals court in the hague ruled there was no evidence of unlawful attacks. ikea says it deeply regrets the fact that some of its suppliers used forced prison labor in communist east germany

more than two decades ago. the company said that it never condone the use of forced labor. and independent report shows it failed to properly look at how their suppliers were manufacturing furniture for the company at the time. >> with the mix of bright scandinavian style and low price, people have flocked to ikea. about six under million customers in its stores in 25 countries, from britain to china to america. it stylish modern design it is very popular. but there is a dark side, the grim jails where ikea used political prisoners. today, this person as a tourist at the old berlin wall. but under communism, he was in prison two years after campaigning for human-rights. when he got to the west, a friend took him shopping and he recognized the furniture.

he says i realized some of the furniture had actually been produced by us. i thought this might have been made by me. at a press conference today, ikea admit that it new political prisoners were making its products. one of its managers said they told the east german regime to stop, but the forced labor continued. >> there were people within ikea that knew about the risk of this happening. that is the reason why we communicated to our suppliers at the time we did not want to have any involvement of prisoners in the production of bakiyev products -- of ikea products. >> prisoner say they should have asked for questions and taken contracts away from east germany. many of the people kept in political prisons like this are still alive. the expectation now is that lawyers will get involved to try to get them compensation. ikea says the way that monitors working conditions today is much

tougher. but behind its bright image is a dark bit of history. just over a week since president obama was reelected but he is already facing his first big challenge. he is trying to stop america's economy falling off what has been called the fiscal cliff. today he met congressional leaders to try to cut a deal both sides can agree on to resolve the crisis. if they fail, the economy could slip back into reception, -- could slip back into recession, a prospect nobody wants. we have this report from nevada. >> are these the first signs of recovery for the construction industry in las vegas? it is not what it seems. she is not building, she is toward writing. there is plenty of land and spare machinery for a business renting diggers by the hour. >> it is sad the way the

construction industry died. it was overnight. nobody expected it. i think people are waiting it out, but i think people are all looking for other avenues rather than stay in construction. i think there are reinventing themselves right now because they have to. >> down the road, another far less glamorous site of vegas, a free food line. here.jackie's first time she lost her house and everything in a just two years before the mortgage was all. michael is well qualified, but surviving. he's putting his passion into the pawn shop. >> fortunately, i was able to put on my music equipment. now have to do something for december. i have to save up money. it is difficult. >> it will get worse. unless the new the reelected president and political leaders on both sides agree on a plan to stop the u.s. going off what

they call the fiscal cliff. >> we are trying to make sure we are able to cooperate together, work together, find common ground, make tough compromises, build concessions to do the people's business. >> what is the fiscal cliff? america's economy has slowly been on the rise, but it is fast approaching a press of this. congress cannot agree on how to resolve the u.s. debt crisis. a group was told to go away and make a deal. the price of failure is so high cannot possibly go wrong. no deal has been done, and if not made in the next few weeks it will automatically be huge tax increases affecting 90% of the work force. government spending will be cut, military benefits come austerity measures coming in. $600 billion will be taken out of the economy, which could mean millions more jobs lost. when america goes over the

fiscal cliff, the whole global economy suffers. and they will feel it here more than most. it does not have to happen. it threatens the britney side of recovery. you are watching "bbc world news america. still to come on the program -- from the stage to the white house, led zeppelin get set for an audience with the president. what does guitarist jimmy page plan to say to barack obama? austria has created the world's biggest marine park which restricts mineral exploration and fishing. duncan kennedy has all of the details. >> the area now covered it is bigger than saudi arabia. five zones around australia, from the coral sea in the north

to the indian ocean in the west. massive stretches of open water, where fishing and drilling will be all but off-limits. >> we need to appreciate in the years to come we don't want people to only know the magnificence of the russians through aquarium's -- of the magnificence of their oceans. >> the most environmental groups say it is a maritime milestone. >> this is the world's biggest national marine park. it is a new global benchmark that is exciting, the stork, and really day-to-day celebrating the oceans. we should be very proud the decision has been made and we finally have this in place. but parts of the fishing industry have not been so supportive. although the government is offering $100 million of compensation to take boats out of commission, some believe the

controls on commercial trolling are too strict. >> we have to change with the times, but we have significant stearns about the compensation process -- we have significant concerns about the compensation process. we don't see an advantage to the regional community. nor is there in evanish to the environment. >> with some reports suggesting the great barrier reef is in danger, the australian government is making marine conservation a high agenda priority. creating parks in the ocean is one way that it believes that it can keep the pristine environments in tact. there one of the world's best-selling artists. led zeppelin burst on to the music scene and the late 1960's and dominated the charts with their blues-infused it's such as "stairway to heaven."

there are about to be honored in the u.s. at the kennedy center for transforming the sound of rock and roll and influencing other artists. led zeppelin split up in 1980. the perform a concert in 2007. what was it like getting back after all those years apart? legendary guitarist jimmy page has been talking to the bbc. >> there was a lot of preparation when we first did the first rehearsal. it was really exciting. everybody was trying to make it work. we needed to play in such a way that we all had confidence with each other. that needed -- that needed playing and getting to know each other, getting to know each other again. >> we see the interchange of expressions between all of you. is that the intention? it is almost like we've audience are on stage.

bu>> it is sort of how it works. i think the interesting thing for most people who have seen that they have remarked upon the fact we sort of a group together. we are working around so we can see each other, and there is this interplay. because even though we had the structure of the numbers, we had sort of rehearsed, but if there were any changes or a problem came in early on a verse, we could just sort of follow it. also, there were areas of the improvisation where we needed to signal each other with cues. that is it. that is a working band. it is creating as it is playing at times. >> was there a moment when you

thought, ok, this has really come together? >> there were certainly high points within it. there was a lot of it, actually. even though it was near the end, it's sort of took on the a whole if serial energy. he could feel a lift in yourself. and in the auditorium. however, that had been the case and some of the other numbers that preceded it. some of the numbers had real high points. but that, i was just flying. >> next month, you, robert plant, and john paul jones will be given the kennedy center award for your contributions to american culture. that is quite an accolade. how does that feel? >> well, it is a terrific honor,

isn't it? the fact is that all three, all four of us were so influenced by american music, and to me, the music that i was hearing in the 1950's over here, whatever was kicking off the rock and roll movement over here in the 1950's would not have existed without american music, really. we all owe a tremendous debt to it, really, this whole movement, the people, the rest of it. american music. >> when you get the kennedy center medal in december, you'll be introduced to president obama. >> yes. >> if you have a little chat with him about american music, how will that go? >> uh, i did an interview -- i

think the band all did an interview for american said at that he point the music that he listened to or had listened to in his youth was stevie wonder. i could understand why he listen to stevie wonder, because he is an incredible craftsman. .'m really relieved i must say, it will be quite -- >> what do you think he is a led zeppelin fan? >> i don't know whether he has been forced to listen to it. i really don't know. that is something we will all find out. >> thank you very much. >> ok, thanks a lot. >> rock and roll history meets the president. that brings today's program to a close. you will find constant updates on our website.

to see what we are working on at any time, check out our facebook page. for all of us here at "bbc world news america," thank you for watching and have a great weekend. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of

international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.